Pb Cabinet nod to fee regulation rules

Private schools in Punjab will not be able to increase fees by more than 8 per cent annually as the state Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to the rules for regulation of fee of unaided educational Institutions.

The rules lay a cap on the annual fee hike by private schools at 8 per cent of the previous year's fee, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said adding that this applied to all other funds charged by the school as well.

The move is aimed at curbing the excessive fees being charged by private schools across the state, an official spokesperson said after a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

The spokesperson pointed out that the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2016 had already been enacted following directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Punjab State Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Rules, 2017 were approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, he added.

The Cabinet also decided that persons of national eminence in the field of industry, technology or technical education would be appointed as Chairmen of the Board of Governors of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University, Bathinda and the IK Gujral Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar.